FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Glenville State Football team scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to defend The Bit in Fairmont, defeating the Falcons 17-14. This was the first meeting between the two squads since 2022, where the Pioneers also beat Fairmont State on the road, 38-36.
1st Quarter
It was three and out for both teams to start the game, followed by
Shaun Sterling Jr. picking off Will Adkins on the Falcons second drive of the game. GSU put together a solid drive, converting a fourth down and getting inside the Fairmont 40-yardline. The Pioneers would stall out, being forced to give the ball back to the Falcons. A late 37-yard touchdown pass gave Fairmont State a 7-0 lead right before the end of the opening quarter.
2nd Quarter
A near six-minute drive by the Pioneers came to an end on a turnover on downs at the Fairmont 26-yardline. FSU & GSU then had quick drives before the Falcons drove 79 yards to take a 14-0 lead with 3:41 remaining in the first half. The scoreboard remained the same as the clock hit zeros.
3rd Quarter
Glenville State was able to pioneer a scoring drive to open up the second half, taking off over seven minutes of the clock and finishing it out with a four-yard TD pass to
Tariq Miller in the corner of the endzone. The Pioneer defense quickly got the offense back on the field, putting the blue and white in position to tie the game. A run heavy drive from all three backs was capped off by a 33-yard touchdown connection from
Anthony Garrett to
Tariq Miller on a 3
rd and 12.
4th Quarter
After a shoulder to shoulder hit with
Shaun Sterling Jr. at the end of the third quarter, Fairmont State had to replace Will Adkins for freshman Nino Marzullo at QB. A pair of three and outs and a
Shaun Sterling Jr. interception halted drives for both sidelines, but it would be GSU to go up 17-14 with 6:50 in the game on a 35-yard field goal by
Brody Layman. A fumble forced by freshman
Jaiden McLendon Parker and another defensive stop by the Pioneer defense gave GSU the ball back with 2:49 left in the game.
Markquan Rucker called game with a first down run, sealing the Pioneers 17-14 Battle For The Bit victory.
Final Stats
Fairmont State
Will Adkins threw for 163 yards, two touchdowns and an interception before getting injured. Nino Marzullo was 2-4 with an interception. The Falcons ran for 149 yards on the ground, led by Elijah Tidwell's 60 yards. Winston Page and Michael Gage both finished with 55 receiving yards as Page and Carter Giacomo had a TD. Defensively, Donovan O'Malley led the way with 12 tackles and 0.5 TFL. Nick Longo was also a force on defense, recording nine tackles and one TFL.
Glenville State
Anthony Garrett had 129 yards passing and two touchdowns for the Pioneers.
Markquan Rucker (27 rushes, 90 yards) and
Zavione Wood (nine rushes, 48 yards) led the ground game. North Marion product
Tariq Miller had three receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns while Fairmont State transfer
Naseem Pacheco had five catches for 32 yards in his return to Duvall-Rosier Field.
Jamair Diaz and
Shaun Sterling Jr. both had seven tackles, with Diaz recording 2.0 TFL and one sack and Sterling picking off two passes.
Jayleem Santos,
Brogan Brown and
Sean Scott all had a TFL as well.
Up Next For The Pioneers
The Pioneers return to Morris Stadium next Saturday (Sept. 28), facing off with UNC Pembroke at 1 p.m.
